Waterline extension project in South Buffalo gets key funding

A proposed waterline extension along Srader Grove Road in South Buffalo received a major financial boost Monday.

State Sen. Joe Pittman, R-Indiana, appeared at the supervisors meeting to announce that the township has received a $150,000 state grant for the project.

“I’ve always felt that if Armstrong County is going to grow, it’s going to be here in South Buffalo Township,” Pittman said. “You need to have public utilities for that to happen.”

The total project cost is estimated at slightly more than $500,000, Supervisor Paul Bergad said.

”This project was brought up by residents,” Bergad said. “If it hadn’t been brought up by residents, we probably would not have looked at this project.”

Bergad, who doubles as chairman of the South Buffalo Township Municipal Authority, said residents on Srader Grove came to the township about a year ago inquiring about getting a waterline installed.

“We had three residents showing up at meetings, complaining about the quality of water they were getting,” he said.

The supervisors followed up on the residents’ request by contacting Pittman for help in locating ways to pay for the project.

“I was so happy he was enthusiastic in wanting to help,” Bergad said.

Much of the township still draws its water supply from wells. Water lines exist along Freeport and Ford City roads carrying water from the Buffalo Township treatment plant to residences and businesses.

The water line along Freeport Road goes part of the way down Srader’s Grove, ending in a dead end where the road intersects with Spohn Road, according to Bergad.

“By doing Srader Grove Road, we can open up that dead end pipe and run it all the way down to Ford City Road,” Bergad said. “Hopefully, that will get rid of any stagnant water from that dead-end pipe.

The distance from the Srader Grove-Spohn Road intersection to the intersection with Ford City Road is about a mile.

That line would service about 25 households on Srader Grove when completed, Bergad said.

He said the $150,000 grant is from the state Department of Community and Economic Development, and it is just the first step.

He said the township has applications pending for two other state grants, but the authority expects to borrow money through a conventional bank loan to finance part of the project. Township officials expect to hear whether their grant applications were successful sometime in June.

A resident asked whether everyone living on Srader Grove will be required to tap into the new line.

“There will be a mandatory tap-in, as there always has been,” Bergad said.

The rule requires any residence within 150 feet of the water line to tap in and pay the fees, he said.

The window to complete the project will be about two years, Bergad said. He said it is the first water line project the township has undertaken in more than 20 years.